Shakespeare Santa Cruz gets musical

Alovable bird in mortal danger of being eaten has, as a storyline, a certain grim resonance with Thanksgiving. But that's the theme of "Honk!," the popular musical based on Hans Christian Andersen's "Ugly Duckling" tale, presented this year as Shakespeare Santa Cruz's family holiday play.

"Honk!," which runs through Dec. 9, was originally a British creation debuting in 1993. But a few years later, the script was slightly re-worked to be more friendly to an American audience. SSC will feature the American version of the script.

"It changes some of the settings," said the play's director Nancy Carlin, "but really, you can't totally take the English out of it."

"Honk!," a comic musical, is the story of Ugly, a "different" sort of baby duckling ostracized for his gawky, odd appearance. Ida, his mother, is the only one who loves him, while Cat, the show's villain, wants to have him for lunch.

The songs include "A Poultry Tale," "Hold Your Head Up High," "Warts and All" and "Different." The production features two Equity professionals, Megan Pearl Smith and Brian Lohmann, in the roles of Ida and Cat respectively, and students from UC Santa Cruz's Theatre Arts Department.

"This is a challenging musical that has nods to lots of different styles," said Carlin who was an actor in SSC's summer season back in 1987. "There are parts where it sounds like 'Chicago,' parts where it sounds like 'Pippen.' The choreography is very complex and varied as well. We even have a tango. There is a lot of comedy involved, but people who know musicals really appreciate this play."